'It is a big relief for me': how the welfare provided by madrassas holds a key to fighting the Taliban

By Zahid Mumtaz, PHD candidate and casual sessional academic, Australian National University
Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University

The swift reemergence of the Taliban in Afghanistan after a failed 20-year war means we need to look beyond military solutions to extremism. One area policymakers should focus on are madrassas — the religious schools that have existed in many Muslim countries for centuries.

Read more: Afghans' lives and livelihoods upended even more as US occupation ends

Our research in Pakistan shows the importance…

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